He knew the father’s heart was broken. He knew also, that the older brother was angry and resentful. He didn’t have the answers to their why questions, yet he was the only one who heard the cry of the lost son?
Mercy - the compassion or forgiveness shown toward someone whom it is within one's power to punish or harm.
A woman, married 5 different times and ostracized by her community.
A business man who cheated his clients.
A man who turned his back on God.
A homeless person who lives wherever a bed or a meal can be found; ignored by others.
An educated religious man who questions his faith.
A prostitute seeking second chances.
A sick woman who no one could help.
A rich man.
A lost soul.
These stories are our stories. Recorded in the bible, they echo throughout humanity. Stories of brokenness, anger, pride, disappointment, shame, fear, and failure. Stories of longing, grief, heartbreak, tears, doubt, uncertainty, and defeat. And in every single case, mercy was the gift given and the beginning of healing and wholeness.
Mercy - the compassion or forgiveness shown toward someone whom it is within one's power to punish or harm.
Listening to the stories of those around us - giving time and space for the telling and the sharing; allowing the brokenness to surface, the fear or anger to be expressed, the apology or pain to be spoken. Mercy is more than a shallow “it’s o.k.” “whatever, don’t do it again” kind of thing. Rather, it rises from a depth of soul that recognizes the value of being heard and being seen. It is a compassion for and a forgiveness of another person's struggle and shortcoming because it recognizes their own.
The single greatest act of mercy is recorded in John chapter three. There we read, “...God so loved the world, that he gave his one and only son that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”
Do you ever wonder if the people in Jesus’ day had a clue? Right before this section of scripture, is where Nicodemus, an educated religious leader and prominent man in the community cannot seem to figure out that Jesus is talking in metaphor and symbolism when he said a person must be born again. Nicodemus can’t figure out how a grown person can enter the womb and come out again. It’s almost comical. He was so focussed on getting it right, he missed the point altogether. The point that one must be born of the Spirit.
But then I think about us - those who follow Jesus today. I look at how divided we are. How angry we get over things. How impatient we are with one another. How volatile things can become. How much we obsess over being right and making sure everyone knows it. How blind we are to our own weaknesses. How we move from one distraction to another never fully addressing the issue. I wonder if people will read about us one day and think, they didn’t have a clue either.
We don’t have to look very far or very hard to see that people are imperfect beings. It doesn’t take much to realize the evidence of just how cruel, violent, and hateful people can be. You don’t have to be very old or have much experience on this earth to realize how unfair, unjust, and unkind this world is.
It is easy to see that when any one person allows anger, power, arrogance, bitterness, jealousy, or pain to come between them and the presence and purpose of God, between them and the teachings of Jesus, between them and another human being, there, darkness rules, sin prevails, and evil wins.
We don’t deserve God’s grace for we all fall short. BUT lets be clear, church, let’s be clear - that is not the end of the story! That is not the end of the story! For according to our text today, mercy gets the last word if we listen! Mercy gets to be the author of how our story ends, if we but hand her the pen.
In other words, by the mercy of God we find our way out of the darkness and by offering mercy to others, we find our way to deeper, more meaningful relationships; we find our way through to forgiveness, wholeness, community, and growth.
I wonder church, how would life be different if we listened for mercy? How would relationships change if we used our listening as an act of mercy? Could it be that when we do, we open ourselves up to the healing, peace, and hope that we all long for? Could it be that listening is the answer to so many of our questions, barriers, divisions, harsh judgements, and intolerance?
Could it be church, that God is teaching us to listen for and offer up mercy to those around us; those we disagree with, hold a grudge toward, or perhaps those who have hurt our feelings, or have different ideas but the same God as we do?
God gave us the ultimate gift of compassion and forgiveness in the life of Jesus. Jesus gave us the model, the formula, the strategy for how to live our lives. The question is, are you listening? Are we listening?
We are just over half way through this journey we call Lent. A journey into the wild places of the heart. A journey of self reflection across the landscape or our lives, asking the hard questions, seeking the difficult answers, and trusting the truth that comes through the other side. This week we continue to ask: Are you listening church? Are you listening people of God? Are you listening?
With all that I am, I pray it is so. AMEN
Pastor Jenothy Irvine